Man testifies against R. Kelly in sex-trafficking trial

Warning: This story contains distressing content relating to rape and sexual assault

After several days of testimony from women claiming they were groomed and sexually abused by R. Kelly, a man took the witness stand at Kelly's sex-trafficking trial in New York City on Monday to say the R&B star exploited him in the same way when he was a high school student.

The witness, taking the witness stand in federal court in Brooklyn without using his real name, told a jury how Kelly lured him to his Chicago-area home in 2007 with false offers of helping him with his fledgling music career.

Kelly asked the alleged victim, then 17, "what I was willing to do for music," the witness said. He replied, "I'll carry your bags. ... Anything you need, I'll be willing to do."

"That's not it. That's not it," he said Kelly responded before asking him if he ever fantasised about having sex with men. He described how Kelly then "crawled down on his knees and proceeded to give me oral sex", even though, "I wasn't into it."

Afterward, "he told me to keep between him and me", he said.

In a later episode, Kelly "snapped his fingers three times" to summon a naked girl from where she was hiding under a boxing ring to give Kelly and the witness oral sex, the man told the jury.

He kept seeing Kelly after that because "I really wanted to make it in the music industry".

Kelly, 54, has repeatedly denied accusations that he preyed on victims during a 30-year career highlighted by his 1996 mega hit I Believe I Can Fly. His lawyers have portrayed his accusers as groupies who are lying about their relationships with him.

Earlier Monday, a woman testified that Kelly sexually assaulted her at age 17 following a performance in Miami in 1994. The witness, also testifying without using her real name, claimed that Kelly's cronies took her and a friend to his dressing room after the show before he pulled down her shorts and forced her to have unprotected sex, she said.

"I was in complete shock," she said. "I didn't know what to say at all. I basically went blank."

Afterward, she and her friend "unlocked the door and ran out of there", she said.

On cross-examination, defence attorney Deveraux Cannick pressed the witness on why, after someone allegedly "raped you," she waited more than two decades to contact law enforcement.

"Because I didn't want to feel more shame and trauma," she said.

Where to get help:

• If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
• If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334. (available 24/7)
• Male Survivors Aotearoa offers a range of confidential support at centres across New Zealand - find your closest one here.
• Mosaic - Tiaki Tangata: 0800 94 22 94 (available 11am - 8pm)
• If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.